Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Long term optimism in research

Every so often another 'too good to be true' bit of cancer research comes along and all of us cancer people look at it and say 'could it help me?' and then we wait to hear more. A new drug has gotten through stage II trials where it has killed 90% of cancer cells - mostly solid tumors but some non tumor cancers. Well this sounds like all sorts of optimistic, wonderful news. So good that when I first read it, I thought it was something that was definitely in the 'crock of sh*t' category of cancer cures - and there are many of those.

So I started reading the fine print. First of all it is just entering stage III trials in Israel. It "... will be tested on a large number of patients (hundreds to
thousands of individuals) in the Phase III trials. Once the drug has
proved successful and passes each country's regulations, it may then go
on the market in that country. After it reaches the market, there are
two more phases to evaluate the long-term effects on patients and to
further integrated it into widespread public treatment."

The fine print found between the lines - how many years will this take? The article says may be 6 years from wide spread distribution. Phase III trials usually last 3-5 years I think. Then there are two more phases.... before it is widely available. Once drugs get through Phase III they usually start to become more widely available. Even during the trials patients may see them.

But if the research and clinical trials are done in Israel as opposed to the US. Were the Phase I and II trials done in the US at all? I looked on Clinicaltrials.gov and did not find them (but that doesn't mean they aren't there - just that I am inept online). Does this mean even longer here? And will it get through the trials and get FDA approval at all? It is not good enough to kill cancer cells if it ends up killing the patient in the long run.

So I will just sit here in 'watchful waiting' (to use the medical term) as my doctors do with my health and see what happens.

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About Me

Married to the most wonderful man.
My list of ailments so you can keep up: slowly healing left sprained ankle, right knee partially torn ACL, left knee osteoarthritis, bursitis both hips, lymphedema issues left arm, tennis elbow right arm, degenerating disks in my back - a chronic issue that cannot be repaired by surgery and only the symptoms can be treated and some weird neuro muscular issues that causes all kinds of pain in my upper back. Oh, and then there is that cancer thing twice now... But I'm still here.

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If you want to follow my story and ramblings through the medical world, you need to start reading the oldest post first which is at the very bottom or you can jump to it by going to June 2007 and look for 'My Big Announcement'. I started this blog so I could keep my friends and family up on my dealings with breast cancer but now it has evolved into my take on the medical world as well as my medical ups and downs. I have not listed my email address but if you know me, you know how to contact me. I always welcome emails. You can also find me on Twitter @carolinemfr and on Facebook. Otherwise, feel free to leave a comment!

But no I do not write about suggested topics or other people's blogs or other ailments so do not bother asking. Sorry.